Pune Should Be Renamed As ‘Jijapur’, Demands A Maratha Group

The year of 2018 can appropriately be named as the year of trends. Starting from the famous Kiki challenge to the dangerous Dragon Breath, we have seen a plethora of fads taking over people, aggressively. However, there seems to be another trend that has gained momentum lately, this time with the government.

In a movement that started with the city of Allahabad, names of certain cities are being replaced with new ones. And as a part of the process, it was not only Allahabad which got its identity changed to ‘Prayagraj’, but even Faizabad was renamed ‘Ayodhya’.

Though we firmly believe that the decision is murdering the soul of these iconic cities, it ain’t stopping anytime soon. Following the two adjustments, BJP MLA Jagan Prasad Garg wrote a letter to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath, requesting him to change the name of Agra to ‘Agravan’.

And now, we have another addition to the list.

Maratha group ‘Sambhaji Brigade’ has expressed their wish to rename Pune to ‘Jijapur’. And if you are not down with that, they are also in support of Shiv Sena’s proposal of changing the names of Aurangabad and Osmanabad to Sambhaji Nagar and Dharashiv.

According to the Pune Mirror, they have also pitched in with a detailed letter highlighting their demands to the state government. The brigade has also requested immediate action to be taken on the issue.

According to Santosh Shinde, Pune district president of Sambhaji Brigade, they have a valid reason to support their plea. Shinde specified Chhatrapati Shivaji’s mother, Jijamata as an idealistic character who brought prosperity to the city after ploughing the Punewadi’s deserted land with a golden plough in the 17th century.

“She was a great and visionary, who ploughed the deserted Punawadi’s land in the 17th century with a golden plough, which is deemed as the beginning of Pune’s prosperity.”

“Jijamata’s contribution cannot be forgotten as it is relevant to Pune’s modernisation.”

In a bid to justify his statements, Shinde added that both the state government and Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis are believers of the fact that the government has been established with the blessings of Chhatrapati Shivaji.

“We hope there will be no protest over this proposal as the government and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis themselves claim that the government has been established with the blessings of Chhatrapati Shivaji.”

A meeting with Pune district collector Naval Kishore Ram has been fixed on Monday where the brigade plans to submit their official proposal.